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Concept
Lambic
Summary
Lambic (lɒ̃bik,_'læmbɪk) is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself since the 13th century. Types of lambic beers include gueuze, kriek lambic, and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers in that it is fermented through exposure to wild yeasts and bacteria native to the Zenne valley, as opposed to exposure to carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeast. This process gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, often with a tart aftertaste.
This beverage is first mentioned in 1794 as allambique. The initial 'a' was dropped early on so that in an 1811 advertisement it was called lambicq, though it was sometimes referred to as alambic as late as 1829. The name may stem from alembic, a type of still used for producing local spirits such as cognac and jenever (but not used in the production of lambic). Breweries in and around Lembeek, a village near Halle, Belgium, have attempted to associate lambic with that name.
Lambic is generally brewed from a grist containing about 60–70% barley malt and 30–40% unmalted wheat. The wort is cooled overnight in a shallow, flat, metal pan (generally copper or stainless steel) called a coolship, where it is left exposed to the open air so more than 120 different types of microorganisms may inoculate the wort. This cooling process requires night-time temperatures between . While this cooling method of open-air exposure is a critical feature of the style, the key yeasts and bacteria that perform the fermentation reside within the breweries' timber fermenting vessels. Over 80 microorganisms have been identified in lambic beer, the most significant being Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces pastorianus, and Brettanomyces bruxellensis. The process is generally only possible between October and May as in the summer, too many unfavourable organisms that are in the air could spoil the beer. In Brussels dialect, lambic produced after this traditional brewing season is referred to as bezomerd, meaning that it has had "too much summer".
Official source
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